Police looking for owner of 77-pound tortoise found on road

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) - Police in New York are looking for the owner of a 77-pound tortoise found on the side of a road.

Newsday reports (http://nwsdy.li/2u1voB3 ) police in Nassau County found the large African spurred tortoise in the Massapequa area.

The animal was brought to Dr. Ned Horowitz and his staff at the Massapequa Pet Vet on Wednesday. Horowitz says they were relieved to receive the "pleasant" and "domesticated" spurred tortoise instead of an alligator snapping turtle, which are frequently found in the area. He says the tortoise appears to be well cared for and believes it may have escaped from its owner's home.

Nassau County police's peculiar roadside discovery comes days after New York City police recovered another African spurred tortoise that was stolen from a Queens environmental center.